I've Started... And You're Finished!
For some reason I missed last week's Mastermind, and only discovered later that the round winner's specialist topic was Led Zeppelin. The myths about The Zepp are astounding - Faustian Satan worship; personal airliners with a shark tank in the back; diets comprised of Jack Daniels, M&S trifles, and grade-one heroin. Mishmash Bookshop are, naturally, big fans.
I wanted to see how I might score against MM's specialist question setters without the benefit of revision; but also wondered how many of the myths would be cited as fact.
But I freely admit my past performance on TV quiz shows has not been garlanded with laurels. A few years ago I took part in Channel Four's Fifteen-to-One, produced and hosted by the polymath William G. Stewart. Unsettled by the experience of wearing make-up for the cameras I dried completely.
WGS: Which honorary scientific post is currently held by Sir Martin Rees?
[thinks ok right there are two aren't there one is the astronomer royal and the other is...]
Me: Chairman of The Royal Society!
WGS: No, Sir Martin Rees is The Astronomer Royal.
WGS: Which Asian city is served by Chek Lap Kok airport?
[come on drew robert's dad built that runway* and at the time they were living in...]
Me: Kuala Lumpur!
WGS: No, the correct answer is Hong Kong.
I sat down, cheeks aflame, my career as TV brainbox sharply curtailed.
Andrew Mishmash
* Robert's Dad was in fact building the new monorail in Kuala Lumpur, after finishing the runway at Chek Lap Kok airport.
1 comment:
you were on 15-1? Another secret revealed... Tough questions... but then i've always utterly despised that programme as the least fair, most dreadful quiz ever made. I remember the very first 2 questions ever on it... one absurdly easy, that anyone who read a newspaper in the last month could answer, the other a baffling 'lorry drivers and manufacturers only' question that no-one would casually know. And if you're at the ends you're going to get asked far more questions... pff!
Post a Comment